Sometimes it’s easy to make mistakes at the crucial moment. Scuderia Ferrari is the example in this Formula 1 weekend which took place at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit in China. A scenario where the Maranello technicians were convinced they would achieve further understanding of the tires. Instead, unfortunately, the slap in the face received in Shanghai still leaves a mark on faces of the Ferrari engineers this morning at the factory. The usual post-race briefing held calmly on Monday inside the Ferrari Racing Division has many items on the agenda. First, the tire issue, precisely. Yes, because if in the Japanese Grand Prix the headache was limited to the qualifying session, in the following Asian round, last weekend, the inability to maximize the performance of the compounds was also present during the race on Sunday, which is more worrying for the Italian side.
A first stint of the Chinese Grand Prix which was not at all bad with the medium tires, but one that still cannot be precisely evaluated because of the traffic that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz encountered in the early laps. In the second part of the race, however, when the two SF-24 cars mounted the Pirelli tires with white bands, the Hard tires to be clear, the situation collapsed strongly and in a way that is not expected. During these runs, the Pirelli compounds were constantly outside the correct operating window. There was a temperature imbalance on both axes of the Ferrari F1 car and the endless array of measures that were taken to correct the situation did not work.
The drivers tried changes in terms of racing lines, various knobs related to the use of brakes and differential, speeds at which to approach the corner to input different amounts of energy into the tire, and so on. Some nervousness on the radio also emerged because constantly thinking about tire management while pushing is highly difficult to achieve in modern Formula 1. Carlos Sainz emphasized this calmly, Charles Leclerc hinted at it in the friendly banter with his track engineer Xavier Marcos Padros.
This is the summary with proper synthesis, because there would be many other things to say. However, let’s give space to other reflections at this time. Having a bad Formula 1 weekend in the works should certainly not be a drama for Scuderia Ferrari. All the work done so far is not in vain. It is certain, given the data, that the word “optimize” in did not work properly in the Chinese Grand Prix. The drivers know it well, as do the technicians, engineers, and above all team principal Frederic Vasseur. The French manager explained how things went. A brief summary of what could have been and was not.
Ferrari therefore takes note of the Chinese problems and shifts focus to the Miami Grand Prix weekend. The work done in the double qualifying session in Shanghai by the Italian team was inadequate. On this point, we believe no one can disagree. Starting too far from the top complicates the competitive context tremendously. Recovering in the race is never easy, and if, as it happened last weekend, tire management falters over the 300 kilometer distance, the situation deteriorates definitively. The Maranello team hadn’t been to China for five years. Okay, yes, that’s all true. However, the same applies to the rest of the teams. It cannot therefore be an excuse, but rather an important point for reflection.
In practice, the main important aspect is understanding why other teams have done better with the same poor data available to them prior to the Chinese Grand Prix. A limited know-how that has had less impact on the “competitive weight”. The Prancing Horse is currently considering this in the factory. They will do so calmly because, although they haven’t been to Miami since last year and the information available about the American racing track regarding the behavior of the wing cars is limited, once again, for the second round of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the Sprint Race will be there waiting for us.
Frederic Vasseur also refers to McLaren. The always cheerful Fred (a bit less than usual last Sunday given the circumstances) argues that the Italian team did not expect such a significant performance from the McL38. This is not good, we add. This is because underestimating the performance of competitors, especially in the early part of the Formula 1 championship, is never wise. We are sure that the masterminds residing in Maranello will take this into serious consideration for the upcoming races. It couldn’t be otherwise. Also because in the sixth round of the 2024 racing campaign, the Woking team will bring the first updates so there will be a lot of focus on understanding how McLaren will perform in the Miami Grand Prix given their upcoming major update.
In this regard, the Frenchman tells the media some interesting news that was already anticipated by our editorial team last week. Scuderia Ferrari is making a great effort to bring the first substantial package of novelties to the track. A necessary measure, also strongly called for by the protagonists behind the wheel: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Making a mistake with an update in Formula 1 is one of those situations really on the edge. Meanwhile, taking the wrong path on upgrades wastes money unnecessarily, which is a big problem for teams given the rules and regulations in the budget cap era. Secondly, it significantly slows down the development phase of a team that is therefore constantly forced to play catch-up.
It takes time to get feedback and validate updates. New parts are hardly ever installed on the car and magically everything works. For this reason, even when accelerating, certain timeframes must be respected. Some upgrades will be introduced by the Ferrari technicians at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida and then off with the major aerodynamic package scheduled to be introduced at the Imola circuit. It now remains to be seen what it involves; we will know more in the coming days. In the meantime, Ferrari is studying “the aftermath of Shanghai” to draw lessons. We await with confidence to understand how the situation will evolve because the very delicate balances of Formula 1 can change rapidly, as we have seen several times in the last few years, but unfortunately only for the field behind a dominant Red Bull team.
Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
Leave a Reply